Gov. Deval Patrick has named Dr. JudyAnn Bigby to be his Secretary of Health & Human Services. Dr. Bigby is an internist at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston (she is Mayor Tom Menino’s personal physician), where she is also medical director of the Center for Perinatal and Family Health. She is also faculty member at Harvard Medical School where she serves as director of the Harvard Medical School Center of Excellence in Women’s Health. She has a long history of working in behalf of the medically underserved; she’s a long time leader in efforts to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health care, especially those affecting women. She also is a leader in substance abuse treatment and prevention.

Dr. Bigby has worked with Health Care For All and other consumer and advocacy organizations for many years. She was a leader in pushing hospitals to recognize a greater level of responsibility for serving their communities. Dr. Bigby faces an awesome set of challenges in her new position, not the least of which is spearheading implemention of the health reform law passed last April.

We think she’s a great choice and we look forward to working with her. Congrats to Dr. Bigby and Gov-elect Patrick on this important selection.